When Charlotte sent an email in February proposing we take on the half-marathon I was dubious to say the least. She suggested we train with Can Too to give ourselves the best possible chance and make it an experience for the greater good.
Our first training run started pretty easily in Centennial Park, a few laps around an oval and generally getting to know everyone. A few weeks later we did our first 5km time trial and things suddenly felt a whole lot tougher.
A few weeks after that I got knocked over by a chest infection that had me out of action for almost 6 weeks. With doctors throwing around words like whooping cough and pneumonia I was starting to worry about whether I was running out of time to train for the big day. As it turns out the doctors still don't 100% what I'd had and I was told to rest, use an inhaler and "be careful". So with that sage advice in mind, I decided to head back to training!
My first session back looked like this.
Despite my impatience to get back into training, running in torrential rain was probably not a genius plan. After a few kms in the wet, our coach Gordo gave me the "raised eyebrow" and I obediently gave up.
It turns out Charlotte and I had hit the rocky part of the training journey.
Charlotte had injured herself taking on the Tough Mudder, I was still on a Ventolin inhaler (having learned the hard way that I shouldn't go on even small runs without it!) and we were only a few weeks out from the race. To say we were a little nervous about our ability to race 21km was putting it mildly.
After 12 weeks of preparation we were ready (ish!) to face race day.
The night before to calm my nerves I got all my race gear laid out (no-one was going to miss me in that fluoro orange!) then like any normal person does before a big race, I got dressed in my Playboy Bunny costume and headed off to a Vegas party. Drinking tap water and sticking to my planned pre-race meal of fish and rice, I watched as others sculled champagne and scoffed hot dogs. At 9pm as Elvis was marrying Celine Dion to Lenny Kravitz, I decided it was time to head home to get as much sleep as possible before my 5am alarm.
Five am, 19th May and I was seriously nervous. A quick breakfast of champions, some water and I was very glad to see my brother who had so generously offered to support me around the race.
Meeting the Can Too crowd, doing a little bit of a warm up then it was straight down to the start. I was so glad my brother had convinced me to keep something warm for the first part of the race as it was freezing (ok, so Aussie freezing). Everyone around me was shivering and I was only jittery from nerves.
Kick off was just before 7am, and running down Macquarie Street I started to find my rhythm. Knowing I needed to start slow and keep energy in the tank for later (particularly as my training meant I didn't have as many kms in the legs as I would have liked), I put my music on and settled into an easy pace.
My much more experienced brother had warned me that I would probably face a mental battle getting down into Pyrmont (around 9km) and he wasn't wrong. With my jumper tied around my waist driving me crazy, my ipod dying and having battled up the first of the challenging hills I started to wonder where he was. On cue Dean'o called out, grabbed my jumper, gave me a thumbs up and said later that when I turned down his offer of something to eat he knew I'd make it to the end.
Seeing my brother was just what I needed and it wasn't until the 15km mark that I faced my next challenge. Having made the rookie error of replacing my shoelaces with bright orange Can Too ones, my left ankle was starting to hurt due to my shoe being too loose. Running along the Cahill Expressway (which was the most amazing harbour view!), I needed to stop twice to fix my shoes. Unfortunately this added minutes onto my time but may also have given me the rest I needed to get up Macquarie Street.
Powering up the hill (with loud encouragement from my bro), the hardest part is seeing the finish line and knowing that you still have another 4km to go. The added struggle is heading down into the Botanical Gardens and seeing everyone else coming back past you almost done. My legs were starting to feel like lead and the last 500m up College Street were a killer (why do they make the last bit uphill?!!!).
Seeing Dean'o at the finish line and knowing that I had actually made it at first I laughed and gave him a massive hug. Then, exhaustion kicked in and I burst into tears. Being a family trait my big tough bro may have shed a tear of two too.
I finished my first half-marathon in a time of 2 hours and 10 mins. Not sure how that rates but I'm ecstatic.
Firstly, I feel so lucky to have a brother who not only gets up at 6am to run around and cheer me on during the race, but who is as excited I am that I finished. Thanks Fred for being such a legend of a brother and best friend.
Thanks also to all those who sent me well wishes and came to celebrate afterwards.
Secondly, I have the most amazing, generous friends and family who donated over $1500 to help Cure Cancer. I ran for Aunty De because you are gone too soon and sorely missed.
Lastly, thanks to Char for convincing me this was a good idea in the first place. Congrats for finishing a brilliant race, you're amazing! You never have to run again.
Bring on the next challenge (a full??)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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